h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Only one question:

How do you explain "non-fatal" SHC or "mysterious Burns"?

e.g. smoke coming from a body...

One explanation might be similar to the old trick with a fiver and a Cigarette.

You give a fiver to a "friend" (AKA Stooge) tell them that they can keep it (you could up the stakes and make it a fifty, but I don't have them in my wallet very often) if they can wrap it around their hand and then can stand the heat until the note is burnt through by the ciggie...

Now they wrap the note around their hand and hold it out in front of them (it has to be tight on the skin) you then put the ciggie "burning" end down to the note, your ex-friend will soon give up, and will probably have a burn on their hand now, but the note will be untouched....

This is all to do with oxygen and the direction in which things burn (i.e. upwards), no oxygen would get to the part of the note under the burning butt (Because its tight against the skin) but the HEAT from the butt would go through the note to the skin underneath and damage the skin - tbh its more like a SCALD than a burn - but it DOES blinkin' well hurt...